Monday, June 19, 2017

"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: THE BOOK OF SECRETS" (2007) Review

Released in movie theaters nearly ten years ago was "NATIONAL TREASURE 2: THE BOOK OF SECRETS", the 2007 sequel to the 2004 Disney hit film,"NATIONAL TREASURE". Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the movie starred Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha and Jon Voight.

"NATIONAL TREASURE 2: THE BOOK OF SECRETS" opens with the Gates family - Benjamin and Patrick (Nicholas Cage and Jon Voight) - learning from a black market dealer named Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) that their Civil War ancestor Thomas Gates (Joel Gretsch) may have been the mastermind behind Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Wilkinson's so-called proof came from assassin John Wilkes Booth's diary. To prove their ancestor's innocence and family honor, Ben and Patrick recruit the aid of family friend Riley Poole (Justin Bartha), Ben's estranged girlfriend Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), Patrick's ex-wife Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren), FBI Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) and even the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) to help them find the treasure of gold that would vindicate Thomas Gates and the family's name.

In a nutshell, this sequel turned out to be just as fun and exciting as the first movie. Ben Gates and company follow clues that lead them from Paris to London to Washington D.C. and finally Mount Rushmore in the Dakota Black Hills. The cast were their usual competent selves and Ed Harris turned out to be just as effective as a villain as Sean Bean had been in the first film. My favorite sequences included Ben, Abigail and Riley's attempt to gain access to one of the rooms at Buckingham Palace, Ben and Abigail's minor adventures at the White House and Ben's kidnapping of the President at Mount Vernon.

I did have a few problems with the movie. My biggest gripe turned out to be the treasure itself. I realize that the Templar treasure found in the first film could not be topped. But I must admit that the City of Gold found beneath Mount Rushmore had failed to impress me at all. And why end the movie at Mount Rushmore? Granted there was a war between American settlers and the Dakota Sioux in 1862, but what did that have to do with the Civil War? I would have been happier if the movie's setting had remained on the East Coast.

Aside from these minor gripes, "NATIONAL TREASURE 2: THE BOOK OF SECRETS" turned out to be as entertaining as the first film. I would highly recommend it.